Chapter 145: Forgiveness
The gates of the palace opened again.
After entering the palace, Sun Wei got off the carriage and turned around to see Sima Jun had just gotten off the horse.
The eunuchs brought a sedan chair to take Sun Wei back to Qixia Garden.
Just as Sun Wei was about to speak, Sima Jun came over.
"I'm hungry." He glanced at Sun Wei, then turned to A'ru and said, "Go to the kitchen and serve the food."
Aju was stunned for a moment, then quickly responded and turned away.
Then he said to Deng Lian, "From the moment I left the Governor's Mansion until I met the Princess, I didn't see any patrols on the city walls. Let's go and see who's on duty tonight."
Deng Lian also responded quickly and turned away.
There were so many eunuchs and palace maids, but he insisted on calling her A'ru; there were so many guards, but he insisted on calling her Deng Lian...
Sun Wei was secretly complaining when she saw Sima Jun say to the eunuchs carrying the sedan chair, "Princess, please go back to the palace on foot.
The eunuchs responded.
Seeing Sun Wei looking at him, Sima Jun glanced around and said, "Since the last incident in Xunyang, I haven't visited the inner palace. Madam, you know the palace inside and out these days. How about taking me on a tour?"
He is the crown prince. After the death of Prince Yuzhang, he became the legitimate owner of the palace.
He was touring the palace and asked her to take him with him.
Sun Wei looked at him and responded.
Sima Jun said nothing and asked someone to light a lamp in front to illuminate the way.
The night sky was clear, and the stars seemed to feel the chill, twinkling.
The wind blew, and Sun Wei gathered the fox fur coat on his body.
"cold?"
Sima Jun's voice suddenly came.
Sun Wei raised her eyes and saw him turning his head to look at her.
"It's not very cold." Sun Wei said, straightening his back secretly.
Sima Jun continued walking forward, and after a moment, he said, "Madam, your plan is very good."
Sun Wei was stunned for a moment and looked up at him.
"Which plan?"
"Exchange Huan An for Cui Pan," Sima Jun said. "Huan An's importance far exceeds Cui Pan's."
It felt like something heavy was lifted from my heart and fell to the ground.
Sun Wei looked at Sima Jun suspiciously: "Sir, you won't blame me?"
Sima Jun asked, "What are you blaming Madam for?"
"Blame me for acting on my own."
Sima Jun frowned: "When did I ever have such an intention?"
Sun Wei said, "The prince said in his letter that I owe him 20,000 soldiers and horses."
Sima Jun thought about it and seemed to finally remember it.
"It was just a joke."
Sun Wei looked at him in surprise, almost feeling that she had misheard.
"Today at Lijing Pavilion, after General Huan left, the prince looked gloomy and didn't say a word." She continued.
Sima Jun's expression was quite incredible.
"Li Kang and his colleagues were slow to act, and I heard a lot of complaints right after I got back," he said. "I was thinking about how to rectify the situation."
Sun Wei: “…”
She felt like she had punched the air.
Sima Jun stared at her and said, "Madam, since you have doubts, why don't you ask them right away?"
Sun Wei opened her mouth and found that she couldn't answer.
After deciding to become Sima Jun's military advisor, she always told herself that they were no longer husband and wife. She should be detached in front of him and no longer worry about gains and losses like in her previous life.
But she found that this was actually very difficult to do. She still couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking of her, and whether he was angry with her.
Sun Wei calmed herself down and turned her gaze away: "I have never had any doubts."
"Madam, are you still worried that I will drive you away?"
Sun Wei said decisively: "Of course not!"
The sound was quite loud, and the eunuch who was lighting the lamp in front couldn't help but turn around.
Sima Jun did not ask any further.
Sun Wei took a deep breath, lowered her voice, and added, "I am just a family member and military advisor of the prince, and I want to know what the prince is thinking."
"Then I can make a pact with you, Madam." Sima Jun said, "From now on, I will have no secrets from you. If you want to know anything, please feel free to ask, and I will tell you everything I know."
Something seemed to touch my heart.
Sun Wei looked at Sima Jun.
She thought to herself that the words came out lightly, like a child swearing... Who in the world doesn't have secrets?
But even thinking this way, she still felt relieved, and even the wind didn't seem so cold anymore.
"Madam, don't you believe it?" Sima Jun said.
"A letter," Sun Wei replied hastily, changing the subject. "The Crown Prince met with Lü Qiuyan today. Did he mention the plan to have General Huan intercept 20,000 troops?"
Sima Jun said, "It was mentioned, but I never agreed."
"Why?"
"I know Huan An is skilled in battle and holds considerable prestige within the Jingzhou army, but whether he can be fully utilized by me remains uncertain. If we proceed with this plan, we will be entrusting the safety of Jiangzhou and Jiankang to someone whose background we still don't fully understand, not to mention that his surname is Huan."
Sun Wei nodded. This was also her concern.
"So, how does the Crown Prince plan to deal with Huan An?"
"If he still wants to be a military commander, I will send him to Kuaiji and have him assist Ruan Hui. If he no longer wants to be a general, I will let him go. Where he wants to go is his business, and it has nothing to do with me from now on. I have already said all this to Huan An."
Sun Wei opened his eyes wide, feeling unbelievable.
"Let him go?" she said. "Then your Highness won't get a single soldier, nor will he get Huan'an. Hasn't your Highness wasted Cui Pan in vain?"
Sima Jun gave her a meaningful look and said, "Madam, you also know that if Huan An cannot be retained, this will be a losing business."
Sun Wei: “…”
Of course she couldn't admit it. If she did, it would really be her fault, and Sima Jun would have a handle on her.
"Your Highness just praised me, saying that exchanging Huan An for Cui Pan was a good idea," she said. "Your Highness shouldn't have let Huan An go. I also said in my letter that Huan An is a rare military talent. Having him under your command would be of great help to your Highness."
Sima Jun nodded. "I was just about to ask my lady about this. Huan An is undoubtedly far superior to Cui Pan. However, his generalship is something that all armies possess. Without the Duke of Nanjun, he wouldn't have been the vanguard general. In your opinion, my lady, what is his superiority?"
"How could the Crown Prince not know?" Sun Wei asked, "The Crown Prince will inevitably face a battle with the Huan family in the future. Only by knowing both yourself and the enemy can you win every battle. With Huan An's help, wouldn't it be twice as easy to achieve twice the result with half the effort?"
Sima Jun's lips curved up, a faint smile visible under the dim light of the lantern.
"Madam, you always think of me. But have you ever considered that it's not easy for Huan An to fight against the Huan family?"
"Your Highness is saying that Huan An might be siding with the Huan family?"
Sima Jun said, "There are so many broken ties in this world, but blood is thicker than water. No matter how much the Huan family mistreats Huan An, Huan Yi is still his biological father. I won't risk leaving him in Jiangzhou until he figures things out."
Sun Wei bit her lip and glanced at him: "So, those 20,000 soldiers..."
"I said in the letter that the lady owed me."
Sun Wei: “…”
Just said it was a joke.
"I have a plan for this matter." Sima Jun paused, looked at her, and said seriously, "But until I've thought it through, even I don't know the details, so it can't be considered a secret. Once I have a plan, I will definitely tell my wife, what do you think?"
Just speak, so seriously.
Sun Wei nodded and said, "I understand."
Sima Jun saw that there was no doubt on her face, so he withdrew his gaze.
"Go to my palace and see if dinner is ready." He turned around and called the eunuch and gave the order.
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